Automated calling system for conference calls

ABSTRACT

A method and system are provided in which teleconference calls are scheduled in advance and, at an appropriate predetermined time, calls are automatically made to the designated participants of the conference calls thereby avoiding the need for the participants to call into a teleconference center. In a preferred embodiment, when teconferences are scheduled, the telecon participants are designated and their phone numbers are input or otherwise determined, for example, through access to a centralized database. A calendar is monitored and at a predetermined time relative to the scheduled start of the telecon, a server system application initiates the calling of the participants for connection to the telecon. The system may be configured to require participants to enter a password before the connection is completed. The status of the called participants is determined and displayed on individual display devices of the other participants in the telecon. In one example, designated participants are called back at selected intervals if the initial automated call is unanswered.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to information processingsystems and more particularly to a system and methodology for enablingautomatic calling of participants for scheduled conference calls.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Because the workday is often hectic, people rush from one activity toanother. Consequently, they are often late dialing into teleconferencesor “telecons”. This problem is aggravated when they need to find thephone number within a calendar entry for the telecon to dial in. Intheir haste, it is not unusual for simple mistakes to be made, such aslooking at the wrong calendar entry, mis-dialing the phone number,neglecting to dial a leading digit for external calls, misreading andentering the wrong passcode, etc.

These types of problems can exist no matter what type of communicationsdevices are being utilized. For example, even utilizing a combination ofteleconferencing and Instant Messaging through Voice over InternetProtocol or “VoIP”, teleconference participants will continue toexperience the difficulties described above.

Thus, there is a need for an improved teleconferencing system andmethodology for enabling automatic set-up of teleconference calls toparticipants in scheduled teleconferences.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method and system are provided in which teleconference calls arescheduled in advance and, at an appropriate predetermined time, callsare automatically made to the designated participants of the conferencecalls thereby avoiding the need for the participants to call into ateleconference center. In a preferred embodiment, when teconferences arescheduled, telecon participants are designated and their phone numbersare input or otherwise determined, for example, through access to acentralized database. A calendar is monitored and at a predeterminedtime relative to the scheduled start of the telecon, a server systemapplication initiates the calling of the participants for connection tothe telecon. The status of the called participants is determined anddisplayed on individual display devices of the other participants in thetelecon. In one example, designated participants are called back atselected intervals if the initial automated call is unanswered.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when thefollowing detailed description of a preferred embodiment is consideredin conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an overall system schematic illustrating an exemplaryarrangement in which the present invention may be implemented;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of several of the components of auser terminal device which may be used by a participant;

FIG. 3 is an example of an input display screen which may be used inscheduling teleconferences in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an example of a status display screen which may be used inassociation with the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary functional sequence inone implementation of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is noted that circuits and devices which are shown in block form inthe drawings are generally known to those skilled in the art, and arenot specified to any greater extent than that considered necessary asillustrated, for the understanding and appreciation of the underlyingconcepts of the present invention and in order not to obfuscate ordistract from the teachings of the present invention.

As herein disclosed, the present invention enables users to configuretheir VoIP support to provide automated ‘dialing’ to connect allparticipants to a telecon. VoIP support would connect to allparticipants based on information contained in an application calendarentry and the connection number information contained in centralizedprofiles, for example. The task of dialing into a telecon would berelegated to a centralized dial-in system. This functions by having thecentral system attempt to connect to all users rather than have theusers dial in to a central number. This will not only be a valuableusability aid, it will also reduce the chance of user error. The personwho schedules the VoIP teleconference would setup and send the meetingnotice. In the meeting notice would be the names of the participants anda central number (e.g., 1-877-IBM-CONF) that continues to act as thefocal point to the meeting. Normally, each user dials into a telecon byinitially dialing into the telecon number and giving a passcode. Theinvention would move the tasks of dialing into a VoIP telecon away fromeach user and have the system call out to participants. Instead of eachVoIP telecon participant manually dialing into the telecon, the systemwould use individual profiles of participants from one or more centraldirectories or databases to determine or confirm the connection numberof each participant and initiate a call to each participant. In anexemplary implementation, when the system first initiates the teleconcall-out procedure, a popup would appear listing the names of each ofthe invited participants in a ‘gray-out’ format. As participantsanswered the call, their popup entry would changed from grayed to black(or some other configurable color) for a quick indication of theirconnected status. The status of those who have not answered (stillgrayed out) would be available in more detail by right clicking over theinvitee's name. Doing so would present more detailed informationconcerning the called participant's status.

The system can be configured to continue attempting to connect. Forexample, retries can be configured to repeat continuously until themeeting is scheduled to end, retry 5 (more or less) times, retry every 6minutes for 3 additional attempts, etc. Participants that could notrespond at their profiled number could still call-in themselves usingconventional methods. Passcodes could still be used to verify theidentity of respondents.

With specific reference to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a system inwhich the present invention may be implemented. As shown, ateleconference server or call center 101 is arranged to include or haveaccess to a conference calendar application 115 which, in turn, isdesigned to receive and store input regarding a scheduled telecon and toinitiate the conference call to the designated participants at thescheduled time. The server 101 also has access to one or more databases113 for retrieving and/or confirming information, including phonenumbers, of the designated participants. As is hereinafter explained ingreater detail, the conference server is enabled to initiate a scheduledconference call to designated participants through an interconnectionnetwork 103 such as, for example, the Internet. In accordance with thepresent invention, calls are automatically placed to participants A 105,B 107, C 109 and D 111 in the illustration. The devices used toparticipate in the teleconference may be personal computers, cell phonesor any other device which has voice capabilities and is VoIP enabled. Inone embodiment of the present invention, display capabilities are alsoutilized to enhance the functional features of the teleconferencingsystem disclosed herein.

As shown in FIG. 2, an exemplary user teleconferencing device, e.g. 105,includes, inter alia, a processor 201 which is coupled to a main bus203. Other components that are connected to the main bus 203 include acache memory 205, and a system memory 207 which may be implemented withflash memory. The system also may include a CD drive 209 for example ina PC embodiment, and a modem or wireless communication system 210capable of connecting to the conference server 101 through theinterconnection network 103. The user device 105 also includes an inputinterface 211 for enabling user input from a keyboard or keypad 213, amouse or pointer device 215 and/or a voice system 216 including amicrophone for receiving voice input from the user. A network interface217 is also connected to the main bus 203 along with a storage device218 a sound subsystem 224 and a video subsystem 225 and associateddisplay device 226. Other components and/or subsystems may also beconnected to the main bus 203 as indicated by the extended bus sections.

In FIG. 3, there is shown an exemplary input display screen by which auser may schedule a teleconference to be set-up at the conference server101. As shown, a display screen 301 is presented to a user and the useris enabled to input the date 303 of the proposed teleconference, thetime 305 of the telecon, as well as the names of the participants 307whom the user wishes to have participate in the scheduled telecon. Theuser is enabled to input specific names 309 as well as the participant'sphone number 311. If a phone number is not known to the user orscheduler, the input line is left blank 313 and the system will accessan appropriate database with the input name to determine the appropriatephone number and fill-in the phone number. The system may also beconfigured to present as a pop-up window on the scheduling screen, alisting of individuals names and numbers if the database checkdetermines that there are more than one person with the input name, inorder to enable the scheduler to positively select the desiredparticipant. Also presented on the scheduling screen is the conferencenumber 315 to be known by the designated participants. In one example, apassword feature may also be included. With the password feature, thesystem will dial and connect to the participants, but will not allow avoice connection until the correct password is entered and verified. Theconference number should be known to the participants in case they willnot be at their designated phone at the time of the scheduled call.Participant call-back options 319 are also presented to the schedulerfor use in designating further actions in the event the designatedparticipant does not respond to the automated teleconference set-upcall. The scheduler may point-and-click 317 on the CALL BACK OPTIONStext 319 to have a pop-up window 321 appear. The scheduler may thenselect from several options which may be presented including an option323 to continuously call back a designated participant for the fullduration of the scheduled conference call if the scheduled participantdoes not respond to the conference set-up call from the server 101.Another option 325 would designate that the un-responding participant isto be called-back every 5 minutes for three times, for example. When thescheduler has made his selections, an ENTER button 327 will input thecall-back selections made by the scheduler. A subsequent selection of anENTER text 329 will enter all of the information input by the schedulerfor subsequent automatic implementation at the time the conference callis to occur. The system may be configured to begin to make theconference call connections a certain number of minutes prior to thescheduled time of the conference so that all of the participants will beon line or connected when the telecon is to begin.

At the designated date 303 and time 305, the server is programmed tomake the calls to the designated teleconference participants 309. Atthat time, a status screen 401, as shown in FIG. 4, is displayed to allconnected participants as they are connected to the call. The statusscreen 401, in the example, includes the date 403, time 405 anddesignated participants 407 to the call in name, number and statuscolumns 409, 411 and 413. As shown, the missing phone number 313 in theset-screen 301 has been located in the database 113 by the program andfilled-into the status screen 412. In the FIG. 4 example, Galvin 415 andJames 417 are not yet connected and their names are displayed in lighttext as well as being noted as “NOT CONNECTED” 419 and 421,respectively. Also in the example, since Jones and Smith have beenconnected, the status column corresponding to their names shows a“CONNECTED” status and their names are emboldened on the status screen.A user is enable to point-and-click 423 on the “NON-CONNECTED” text 421in order to have a pop-up screen 425 appear to present more informationregarding the reason for the unconnected status of the designatedparticipant. As shown, possible reasons include that there was no answer427, or the line was busy 429 or that the call was connected but laterdropped for some reason 431. The connected participants are also enabledto change the call back options 433 from the status screen bypointing-and-clicking on the CALL BACK OPTIONS text 433 as discussed inconnection with FIG. 3. Once a designated participant has beenconnected, the corresponding light text will become emboldened tovisually indicate the connected status of the participant.

A functional sequence of the methodology of an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention is shown in FIG. 5. As shown, when it isdetermined by the conference server 101 and conference calendarapplication 115 that a scheduled teleconference is to begin 501, theserver 101 retrieves the conference information 503 and initiates calls505 to the designated participants. If a called participant does notconnect 507, the reason for the non-connect is determined and saved 509and all active status displays are updated 511 to indicate that aconnection has not been made. The next uncalled participant is thencalled 505. When a participant is connected 507, the status informationis updated 513 and if the participant has a display, the updated statusinformation screen 401 is displayed on the connected participant'sdisplay screen. If there are more uncalled participants 515 the nextparticipant is called 505 by the server 101 until all of the designatedparticipants have been called. When there are no more uncalleddesignated participants 515, the process goes to implement the inputcall-back programming 517 as determined by default or by the scheduler,e.g. 321.

The method and apparatus of the present invention has been described inconnection with a preferred embodiment as disclosed herein. Thedisclosed methodology may be implemented in a wide range of sequences,menus and screen designs to accomplish the desired results as hereinillustrated. Although an embodiment of the present invention has beenshown and described in detail herein, along with certain variantsthereof, many other varied embodiments that incorporate the teachings ofthe invention may be easily constructed by those skilled in the art, andeven included or integrated into a processor or CPU or other largersystem integrated circuit or chip. The disclosed methodology may

1. A method for calling participants in a conference call, said methodcomprising: inputting a conference date and call time for saidconference call into a computer system; inputting names of saidparticipants into said computer system; and providing telephone numbersfor said participants, said computer system being operable toautomatically initiate computer-originated calls to said participants onsaid conference date at said call time for connecting said participantstogether for said conference call.
 2. The method as set forth in claim 1wherein said computer system is enabled to access a database to retrievesaid telephone numbers, said method further including enabling an entryand verification of a password by each participant before connectingsaid each participant to said conference call.
 3. The method as setforth in claim 1 wherein said computer system is enabled to access adatabase to provide a listing of names similar to said names of saidparticipants whereby a scheduler for said teleconference is enabled toselect specific ones of said names similar as said participants.
 4. Themethod as set forth in claim 1 wherein said inputting is done by a userwith a user computing device connected also be implemented solely orpartially in program code stored on a CD, disk or diskette (portable orfixed), memory stick or other memory device, from which it may be loadedinto memory and executed to achieve the beneficial results as describedherein. Accordingly, the present invention is not intended to be limitedto the specific form set forth herein, but on the contrary, it isintended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, ascan be reasonably included within the spirit and scope of the invention.through an interconnection network to a server, said conference callbeing accomplished using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
 5. Themethod as set forth in claim 4 wherein said user computing deviceincludes a keying device for enabling said user to input informationinto said computer system.
 6. The method as set forth in claim 4 whereinsaid user computing device includes a display device for displayinginformation to said user.
 7. The method as set forth in claim 8 whereinsaid user computing device is enabled for displaying said conferencedate, said call time and said names of said participants input by saiduser on said display device when said user is scheduling said conferencecall.
 8. The method as set forth in claim 7 and further includingenabling said user to select call-back preferences for implementation bysaid computer system if one or more of said participants is notinitially connected to said conference call in response to saidcomputer-originated call.
 9. The method as set forth in claim 7 whereinsaid user computing device is enabled for displaying said conferencedate, said call time and said names of said participants input by saiduser on said display device when said user is connected to saidconference call, said user computing device being further enabled fordisplaying a conference connection status for each of said participantsto said conference call, said conference connection status indicatingwhether or not each of said participants is currently connected in saidconference call.
 10. The method as set forth in claim 4 wherein saiduser computing device is a wireless device.
 11. The method as set forthin claim 4 wherein said user computing device is a personal computer.12. The method as set forth in claim 4 wherein said user computingdevice is a telephone device.
 13. The method as set forth in claim 4wherein said user computing device is a wireless telephone device.
 14. Aprogrammed medium, said programmed medium being selectively accessibleby a computer system to provide program signals, said program signalsbeing operable for enabling calling of participants in a conferencecall, said program signals being further operable for: enabling aninputting of a conference date and call time for said conference callinto said computer system; enabling an inputting of names of saidparticipants into said computer system; enabling a determination oftelephone numbers for said participants, said computer system beingoperable to automatically initiate computer-originated calls to saidparticipants on said conference date at said call time for connectingsaid participants together for said conference call.
 15. The programmedmedium as set forth in claim 14 wherein said program signals are furtheroperable to enable said computer system to access a database to retrievesaid telephone numbers, said program signals being further operable forenabling an entry and verification of a password by each participantbefore connecting said each participant to said conference call.
 16. Theprogrammed medium as set forth in claim 14 wherein said program signalsare further operable for enabling said computer system to access adatabase to provide a listing of names similar to said names of saidparticipants whereby a scheduler for said teleconference is enabled toselect specific ones of said names similar as said participants.
 17. Themethod as set forth in claim 14 wherein said inputting is done by a userwith a user computing device connected through an interconnectionnetwork to a server, said conference call being accomplished using Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP).
 18. The method as set forth in claim 17wherein said user computing device includes a keying device for enablingsaid user to input information into said computer system.
 19. The methodas set forth in claim 17 wherein said user computing device includes adisplay device for displaying information to said user.
 20. A system forcalling participants in a conference call, said method comprising: inputmeans for inputting a conference date and call time for said conferencecall into a user device for transmission to a conference server device,said input means being further operable for enabling inputting of namesof said participants into said user device; and processing means forproviding telephone numbers for said participants, said conferenceserver device being operable to automatically initiatecomputer-originated calls to said participants on said conference dateat said call time for connecting said participants together for saidconference call.